Heather at The Welcoming House asked me to share a DIY craft with her for her blog as a guest post. Her blog features everything from DIY home decorating to recipes. Please visit her blog and read about my DIY Pedestal Serving Dishes. They were super easy and cheap to make and great for Christmas! Let me know what you think!

Thrifty Decor Chick had a nifty Christmas craft on her blog Tuesday that I just have to share with you. You know, you think you've seen it all and wonder how anyone could come up with anything new – and then they surprise you and do. This is the cutest thing and I'm definitely going to do this for my Christmas decorating this year. Here's an excerpt from Sarah's "A Quick and Easy Holiday Project." "In the past couple of years I’ve fallen in love with holiday-themed pillows this time of year. I just think they’re a festive addition, and all you do is toss. Toss, toss! (Name that musical.) Throw one or two on a sofa or chair and the room instantly feels Christmasy. Try it. It works. Well the past couple of after Christmas sales I’ve picked up a few more placemats to make my favorite pillows EVER. Yes, placemats:" Click here to read the rest of her … Read more

This is the second in my How-to Series on Re-purposing Old Picture Frames Here’s my first post with a list of 10 DIY projects to upcycle old picture frames. The plan was to do this last week, but we had a special delivery just after Thanksgiving. We welcomed in a new grandson. All my plans for the rest of the week went out the window! But, I’m back now with a nifty little project for you. It’s easy. It’s cheap. It’s useful. It’s a great decor item. I’m using it as a tool hanger in my craft room. but really, it could be used for just about anything. Use it to hang photos, craft supplies, kitchen tools, office supplies…anything goes. 1. I started with an old frame that I had used to display my kids’ sports pictures. 1. 2. To remove the glossy finish, I sanded the frame with a Sanding Sponge, Fine grit. 3. Rust-Oleum Painters Touch 2X Spray … Read more

Greetings and Happy Thanksgiving! I hope your next few days are restful and one of celebrating with family and friends. Take some time off and enjoy – I am and I will. I'll be back later to show you my Thanksgiving table. This is going to be fun! In two days I will begin my Christmas decorating. I have tons of ideas and will share some of them with you over the few of weeks. Meanwhile… The Inspired Room highlighed another blog that has tips on how to lessen your holiday stress. Check it out at The Decluttered Home, How to Simplify Holiday Decorating. Here are her beginning thoughts: Simplify Your Holiday Decorating – by Melissa Michaels It’s that time of year when we all start getting out the holiday decor! We all love it, but it can definitely get overwhelming if we have too much stuff or try to accomplish more than we have time for. The spirit of … Read more

Jillian, my youngest, started making earrings years ago when she was in highschool. Then April, my oldest started making them just a few years ago to sell on etsy and at craft shows. Not wanting to be left behind, I began making them as well and now I am totally addicted! I recently made about 240 pair of earrings over a four day period. Anyone want to count them and tell me how many there actually are? You can see I'm missing a couple pair – I had my mom pick out some that she would like for Christmas. When I say this DIY project is easy, I mean E.A.S.Y. I know, I know, I'm always saying these projects are easy, but if you know me, you would know I wouldn't do a project like this if it was difficult…or messy…or intricate. When I taught school, I was known as the teacher that wouldn't do messy art projects. Though, I … Read more

I just had to share this with you! I was taking drawers out of a dresser in our garage that we decided to put up in our closet… then I saw this box. Umm, hello! This box is a treasure! You never know where you're going to find something you can repurpose in your home. Now all I have to do is convince my DH to let me have it… I could use it for photo shoots – can you see a toddler sitting in it with overhauls on? Or I could use it as a table or a bookshelf… Maybe I will sell it – here are some similar ones on ebay. What to do, what to do? Tomorrow I'm going to show you a clearanced lantern from Kohls that I painted and will use for a fall/Christmas accent. Have a great day and please leave a comment on what you think I should do with this box! Got … Read more

I'm almost embarassed to show you this DIY project. Not because I don't like it. On the contrary. I like it A LOT. But…since it was so easy, I'm not sure I can even call it a DIY "project." Last week I showed you how to paint a silver painted decorative vase. Today I'll show you how to arrange silk pointettia flowers in that same vase. Why do people pay $30.00 for a seasonal flower arrangement? Let me encourage you – Do it yourself! This is what I started with – a typical fake poinsettia plant. It cost me "nada." I like "nada." "Nada" makes me happy. Can anyone say, "Gag me?" I'm sure at one time it was considered lovely. OK, I'm not sure. But somebody had to have thought it was something of value. Sorry if you're the one who bought this for church. I got it about a month ago in the "Give to Goodwill" pile when … Read more

A DIY Garage WorkBench My DH and SIL are starting a new business and needed a work area – one that is clean and organized. Since neither of those words describe our garage, my DH tore down one set of shelving in our garage and put together a new workbench. I will let him tell you about it since I have no idea what he did. Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start… I chose the garage over the shed I had intended to put it in for several reasons. More room Concrete floor Electricity It’s getting cold and it’s much easier going to the built on garage than the shed that I would have to shovel my way to in just a few weeks. The garage wall started out with some homemade wood shelving. This had to be disassembled. Fortunately it was decently made and was put together with screws. The perfect workbench at … Read more

Houzz.com shows us a quick way to fix hinges when the screw has been stripped, originating from Grainda Buildres, Inc. You will need a hammer, wood glue, a golf tee and sharp utility knife, and of course a screwdriver or pliers to yank out the screw. It probably wouldn't hurt to have a drill on hand for a new pilot hole to hold the new screw. I suppose you will also need a wobbly door hinge. Just click on the picture to go to the tutorial. Thanks Houzz.com! Go to Houzz.com to see the whole tutorial. If you have a stripped phillips screw head, place an elastic band between the screw head and the screwdriver to give yourself more grip.

A Silver Vase for the Holidays Here’s another simple DIY spray painting project for you. I have a dozen clear glass vases from my daughter’s wedding two years ago. …along with a bunch of other stuff, but let’s not go there. I also have a bunch of similar vases that are left over from burning Candlewick candles that same daugther gave me. Sense a theme here? I thought about donating them, but who would want them? YET, there’s GOT TO be a use for them doesn’t there? So, the “saver” that I am (DH probably prefers “hoarder”) kept them these 2 1/2 years thinking I could find someone who could use them. Then I found someone! ME! Check this out. I took one of the glass vases and wrapped rubber bands around them in a not so perfect pattern. I’m not perfect enough to wrap them perfectly, so let’s go with the story that I did this on purpose, shall … Read more